Kaylie Harmon
Going into Saturday afternoon’s Conference Indiana girls basketball contest against Terre Haute South, Columbus North wanted to be the aggressor from the start.
So the Bull Dogs went out and built a 16-0 lead 4 1/2 minutes into the game and forced 14 turnovers in the first quarter on their way to a 74-18 victory.
“That was one of the things we talked about — creating our own energy and coming out and doing the things that we wanted to do, and I feel like we did both of those things,” North coach Brett White said. “Being able to come out and take care of the things that we wanted to take care of was our goal, and we accomplished that today.”
The Bull Dogs (6-2, 3-0) led 25-2 late in the first quarter and 47-10 at halftime, ensuring a running clock for the second half.
North committed only five turnovers for the game and forced 29 from the Braves (2-7, 0-2).
“We felt like we could pressure them, but we also talked about being disciplined with our pressure and not just running around all over the place,” White said. “I think overall, we did that today.”
Freshman Kaylie Harmon led the Bull Dogs with 18 points.
“We’ve had a good week of practices, and that’s one of our main focuses,” Harmon said. “I think that really showed on the floor, how well we’ve been practicing, and this is what it led up to. Our full-court press, we’ve been working on that in practice, and I think that’s what really led to turnovers and our points.”
Kenna Conrad
Kenna Conrad came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points. She hit her first four shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“I just had a mindset of coming in and giving it my all and being ready to play today,” Conrad said. “During practices this week, I just felt like I was prepared to play. I think it was a pretty good game for us as a team. We communicated well and played together.”
Hadassah Hurt added eight points for North. Paige Terry grabbed six rebounds to lead the Bull Dogs to a 25-21 advantage on the boards.
North now has won six games in a row after dropping its first two.
“I feel like we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now,” White said. “As we gain more and more experience, we feel more comfortable playing together and figuring out what some of our roles are, so hopefully, we’ll continue to make the progress that currently we are making.”
Columbus North 74, Terre Haute South 18
Terre Haute South;5;5;8;0;—;18
Columbus North;25;22;12;15;—;74
Terre Haute South (2-7, 0-2): LaNiceon Holman 0 0-0 0, Karizma English-Malone 2 5-5 10, Aleecia Lewis 0 0-0 0, Haley Morris 1 0-0 2, Madi Boyd 0 0-0 0, Te’Rah Cooley 2 0-0 5, Carley Werremeyer 0 0-0 0, Emma Kassissieh 0 0-1 0, Katie Cox 0 1-2 1. Totals: 5 6-8 18.
Columbus North (6-2, 2-0): Kenna Conrad 4 2-2 12, Ava Wilson 2 2-3 6, Olivia Johnson 0 2-2 2, Riley Sims 2 0-0 5, Audrey Nordman 0 0-0 0, Kaylie Harmon 7 0-0 18, Paige Terry 3 0-0 6, Kaitlin White 0 0-0 0, Miley McClellan 3 0-0 6, Avery Johnson 0 4-4 4, Sydney Johnson 2 0-0 5, Hadassah Hurt 3 0-2 8, Emma Beaver 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 10-13 74.
3-point goals: Terre Haute South 2 (English-Malone, Cooley); Columbus North 10 (Harmon 4, Conrad 2, Hurt 2, Sims, S. Johnson).
